One by One
by Tabis the Tabby
Summary: The Kikumbuko Pride is forced from their home and have wandered for days without food. Now, in desperation they send two young lions to find a new home...and guess what they find? A paradise, teeming with endless food and a pride that just might take them
1. One by One

Hey peeps! Your favorite neighboorhood Tabis here! I've been wanting to writea Lion King fanfic for soooo long. My other one is hiatus as i try and think of something new...Anyways, hope you enjoy and don't forget to r/r.

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**_Prologue:_**

_"Ibabeni njalo bakithi _

Ninga dinwa

Ninga phelelwa nga mandla"

Dark clouds stretched for miles across the sky. A threatening rip of thunder shook the earth, the promise of a storm. Two dark forms stood and looked up at the sky, both looked grim as a flash of lighting was followed by another loud crash. A sigh escaped on of them as they turned and headed back to their pride. For miles, there was nothing, just an endless sea of brown dirt. Huddled together was a group of lions, and all of them bewildered and obviously frightened by the storm overhead. One of them moved to greet the two lions who had left.

"Is there any place to take shelter Agenti?" The lioness said, hope shining in her brown eyes. But the hope faded when she saw the look on the other lioness' face. The answer was no. They would have to stay in this desolate place until the next morning. Already the young cubs were frightened and all were weak from lack of food.

"I am sorry, Bakita, but we could find nothing." Asabi sighed as she glanced up at the sky again. "I would send someone out to search farther, but everyone is too tired, I won't risk their lives out there."

"But you know we can't stay here." The other female that had gone with her said. "Perhaps someone would volunteer?"

"In this weather?" Bakita laughed bitterly. "The lack of food must've gotten to your head, Nyeki!"

A streak of anger flashed across Nyeki's chestnut colored eyes. The lioness growled, patience wearing thin. For the past few days, Nyeki and her sister, Asabi had led their pride from their homelands. A larger pride and come in and taken over their kingdom, giving the Kikumbuko Pride, the choice of death or exile. The two sisters had no choice but to leave, even with young cubs and elders, they would not let their pride be killed off.

Everywhere they traveled, they were either unwelcome or found danger. They could scarcely find food, and when they did another pride or hyenas would come and take it. They were too weak to fight back and hyenas could be deadly in their attacks. They had lost three of their pride members. An elder female and two young cubs. The two leaders feared they would not be the last, if a suitable home was not found soon.

"Nyeki!" Asabi snapped, her eyes locking onto her sister's. Nyeki looked away and frowned, her tail flicking in anger. Asabi then looked toward Bakita, a frown on her muzzle. "Unless you have a better idea, I suggest you hold your tongue."

The female stalked past the two, flicking her tail for them to follow her, back to where the rest of the pride was waiting anxiously. The cubs were in the middle of the group. All of them were huddled together, frightened of the thunder and lightning. Their mothers looked tired and defeated, yet still tried to comfort the young ones. As Asabi watched her pride, she knew that she had to find them a home soon.

She shook her head and the lionesses understood. Some of them laid down, and others still sat up, alert for danger and maybe, by some miracle, food. Asabi knew she would have to take a risk, go with Nyeki's idea. She looked for the healthiest two, but it was hard. They were all so skinny, bones were sticking out and fur ragged. Then she saw the two who were talking quietly with the cubs, trying to calm them down.

Kabira and Kimoni, young adolescent siblings who were by far the most active of the pride. They didn't look any better than any other member, but their determination was never ending and quite helpful when the rest of the pride was sulking and complaining. They were promising as cubs and were growing in fine young adults, and Asabi knew if she sent them out, they might never come back. Asabi knew they were the ones, if they couldn't find a place, no one could.

"Kimoni, Kabira!" She called to them to come over. They didn't even hesitate as they left the cubs with a small, encouraging smile and headed over to see their leader. Kabira was a dark brown lioness, average size, but with beautiful blue eyes. Her one oddity was her one solid black front paw which she used to be teased about. Strange markings were unusual for a pride and sometimes they could stand out, especially in a hunt. But Kabira was not discouraged and was a fine hunter and looked upon in awe by the younger members.

"Yes, Asabi?" Said the male, Kimoni as they reached her. He was tan colored, like Asabi herself and had the same blue eyes as his sister. He had tufts of dark brown hair, which would grow into a magnificent mane one day.

"As you can tell, we are no where near good enough lands to call our home." Asabi began. "We need you two to leave and find a place for us or at least somewhere to find food. The Pride is starving and it's up to you two to find a place. I won't force you, I am simply asking."

"Of course!" Kabira was all for it, her eyes lit up eagerly. Kabira was determined to find a place for the pride, wherever it was and however far she had to go. "We won't disappoint you!"

"I know you won't." Asabi gave a small sigh of relief. She had almost been afraid they wouldn't agree, but they had. "Now get some rest. You can leave tomorrow morning."

The two young lions nodded and turned away from their leader and rejoining the group. They said nothing to the other lioness', but simply went back to calming the cubs and telling them stories. Asabi watched them with pride and worry in her eyes as the rain began to fall.

"Sizo nquoba"

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Tell me what songthe lyrics arefrom and i'll give you a cookie! 


	2. We Are One

_If there's so much I must be_

_Can I still just be me_

_The way I am?_

"Mother, can we go now?" Whined a young female voice into the ear of an older female lying on her side.

Kiara blinked blurrily up at her daughter who stood over her with a frown. The pale orange lioness suddenly smiled lightly and reached her paw up to gently cuff the cub. The offended young female backed away as her mother rolled to her paws. Light flooded the den where lions still slept. As she looked, she could see another cub come up beside her daughter.

"Dalji, Zama, you two are up quite early." Kiara yawned loudly as the two cubs rolled their eyes. They could never understand the older lions' strange sleeping habits. Why would you want to sleep in when there was some much to explore outside? "Where is your father, Dalji?"

"I think he went out with Grandpa." Dalji shrugged as though it was unimportant.

"And your brother?" Kiara questioned as she got up and started toward the entrance of the Cave.

"Don't know." Dalji admitted as she scrambled to follow her mother. "But mother, can we please go? We've been waiting forever!"

KIara looked at her young daughter. She took after her father, with a dark brown pelt, but had ruby colored eyes and black ear rims. She reminded Kiara of herself, ready to go off and have adventures, herself with a lot more sense. Dalji got in trouble, as all cubs did, but she knew when she was going too far.

"Yes, Dalj, you may go." Kiara looked at Zama. "You'll watch out for her, won't you?"

"Yes, Kiara." Zama said with a grin as the two cubs took off.

Kiara watched the two head down the rocks, together. Feeling envious at the moment, for she'd been the only cub around when she was born. All the others had been the products of Outlanders and had been exiled with their parents. The other lionesses her age had a bond with each other, one that she felt envious of, every time she watched them hunt or simply talk together. She would never feel completely comfortable with them, or any other lionesses for that matter. The older hunters seemed more mature and made her feel foolish. The younger ones were naïve and yet overly respectful.

But Kiara knew that was the least of her worries. She'd grown in the last few years, and was proud of herself. With help and a lot of practice she'd become a very accomplished hunter. She was lean, powerful and graceful, and much smarter. The events of her youth had given her a better understanding of the world, and not just 'we are one' or 'the circle of life'. She knew those things, and so much more. She knew about love and loyalty, responsibility and pride, jealousy and greed.

Kiara slowly took the long walk up the slanted rock that served as the King and Queens 'throne'. One day she would make this journey alone, as she announced herself as Queen and then Kovu would join her and they would introduce their son, Khairi as Prince. As she reached the top, she gasped lightly, as the sight still amazed her. Kiara had seen this sight many times; the sun shining over the pridelands, the other wildlife simply living their lives and thriving. In the distance she saw to specks, jumping and leaping through the tall grass of the Savannah, and she knew all was well.

* * *

Khairi smirked as he watched the light brown adolescent lioness turned away from him. He'd been successful in sneaking up on him this far and was rather confident that he would get her this time. Ever since she joined the pride, Kaveri had fascinated him, she was a mysterious lioness, beautiful and intelligent but all in all mysterious.

Kaveri had come from a place far away; she called Ghambiri, named after their first Queen. The stories of her pride had been so odd, as were her ways. When she'd first arrived and saw Simba, she'd said she'd never seen such a large mane on a male lion. She also commented on how much bigger the Pridelands pride was compared to her old pride.

Because of this Khairi found her fascinating, not only that she'd come from a different place but she was an excellent huntress and the only other adolescent in the pride. He'd been at a weird time, and had at one point assumed that he was created to finalize the bond between Pridelanders and Outlanders, since he would be kin to both. But his mother told him, that it hadn't been planned at all, but had been one of the best surprises she'd ever gotten.

He pounced, grinning to himself, only to find that instead of a lioness, there was nothing but air. He gasped as he landed hard onto the ground and groaned unhappily. He lifted his head, only to be looking into the gray eyes of Kaveri. Usually they would've been amused, or she'd be laughing haughtily, but instead she was frowning.

"Be quiet." She whispered and walked past her friend and down the hill that led to what used to be the Outlands. Now it was growing back into beautiful grassland, just like the rest of the savannah. Yet, his grandparents still debated on whether to officially make it part of the Pridelands. There were so many dark memories for many of the lionesses, and with that much more terrain it would be hard to govern.

"What is it?" He whispered back, only to have Kaveri through a glare back at him. There was a sense of foreboding as they reached the log that connected the two lands, and as they crossed her could hear something strange. Like high pitched cackles and growls.

"Hyenas." She said, she strained her eyes, trying to see what was going on. "And lions, come on." Before Khairi could say anything, Kaveri was charging toward them. The prince knew it was a bad idea, maybe even a fatal decision, but he couldn't just leave Kaveri to deal with this alone.

_Can I trust in my own heart?_

_Or am I just one part._

_Of some big plan  
_

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A bit shorter, but necessary. Hope you guys enjoy and thnks to everyone who reviewed!!! You guys rock my sox 


	3. Rafiki Mourns

I can't express home much your reviews mean to me! Thank you so much, everyone gets a cookie!

Thanks to;

Serengeti Writer

MinsterSweetGoodKid192006 (x2)

SunRise19

konciawa (x2)

Keep reviewing, I love hearing what you have to say!

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_Madi ao_

_Leka sebete chia ho oele sebatha_

_Mo leka qeme o tsaba hoa_

_Lebo haleng ha o bue ka le ha_

_Lebo haleng ha o bue ka le ha_

"Come on, we'll rest soon, Ilom." Kabira said gently to the young cub that lagged behind the two adolescents.

It was a strange sight, a young female and young male walking through a sparsely vegetated land with a cub following them. There could be a few reasons for this interesting situation, many of them were quite bad or simply unheard of, but the truth was it was mostly an accident. Somewhat anyway…….

_(flash back begins)_

"_Kabira, Kabira." Whispered a voice in the young dark brown lioness's ear. Slowly she opened her blue eyes and looked up to see Tiombe, another adolescent standing above her. _

"_Tiombe?" Kabira whispered to the nervous looking young female. She slowly got up, careful not to disturb any of the cubs that had fallen asleep after her story. She nodded to Tiombe and led her away from the Pride before turning and facing her. "What?"_

"_I know were your going." She blurted out, unable to stop herself. The pale tan lioness suddenly looked down, ears back. "I know what Asabi told you. But I swear it was an accident!"_

"_Shush, Tiombe." Kabira growled softly, but gently. Tiombe had always been a nervous lioness, ever sine they first found her, half dead at the border of their pride. With her she had a small lion cub, barely two days old. "I know you wouldn't do it on purpose; now what's wrong?"_

_Tiombe sighed, shuffling her paws nervously. She raised her brown eyes to meet Kabira's blue ones and said. "Go North, follow the rising sun and the North Star at night, you'll find a pride there, the Pridelands Pride."_

"_Shouldn't you tell, Nyekia or Asabi?" Kabira demanded. "Surely safety would be guaranteed for the whole pride if we all went."_

"_No, no, no." Tiombe shook her head with each word. Her claws scratched nervously at the dry ground, and her ears flicked back at every sound. She was growing even more nervous by the second. "They won't listen to me, you know that. That's why you need to go, go and find the Pridelands, then come back. They'll believe you if they know you've been there."_

"_How do you know?" Kabira asked, only to see Tiombe turn her face away._

"_I just do." Tiombe said firmly, surprising Kabira at her serious tone. She wasn't answering another question. "But do one thing for me, take Ilom."_

"_What?" _

"_Ilom, if you leave, he'll be the first one they throw out." Tiombe said fiercely, though sadness also lined her voice. "Ever since he was brought here, they think he's strange, just like they think I'm strange."_

"_No one thinks—." Kabira was cut off by Tiombe._

"_Don't deny it. They keep me here because they need as many fighters as possible." Tiombe sighed dejectedly. "But he's just a cub, if they decide he's slowing them down, or taking things from their own cubs, they'll kick him out and leave him to die."_

_Kabira said nothing, but she knew the truth, Tiombe was right. Outisders were never realy treated with suspicion at the Kikumbuko pride, but their strange appearance had always made the pride's members wary of them, forever making the adolescent female and young cub outsiders. Even the cubs stayed away from Ilom, after hearing their mother's whispering in the dark about him. It was no secret that Bakita and a few others would be glad to leave Tiombe and Ilom for dead._

"_His enemies are many." Tiombe said. "His burden and his birthright."_

_(end flash back)_

Tiombe's words still haunted and puzzled her. The lionesses always commented on how little they knew of the adolescent female and the male cub. Were the spies? Perhaps there was a reason they'd been driven from their last pride? Bakita had gone so far as to suggest that they were bad omens, and had brought the terrible battle upon them and their mere presence had helped their pride be taken over. The lionesses were desperate, and willing to believe any kind of excuse they could take. Kabira wondered if Tiombe was alright.

"Kabira!"

The dark brown lioness looked up, slightly startled as her brother faced her. He was grinning a little, and Kabira wondered why. Her ears perked up, perhaps he'd found something at last. She'd taken Tiombe's advice and followed the rising sun in the morning and following the North Star at night. Dry and cracked land was all that welcomed her, and though Kimoni often told her that they should try another way. Kabira stubbornly refused, wanting to trust Tiombe and prove everyone else wrong.

"I think you were right!" He sounded excited, yet tired at the same time. "I saw grass, and…and trees, it was amazing!"

Kabira stared at him; the young adolescent male who was usually so calm and serious was like a cub again. But Kabira could feel relief washing over her, _thank you Tiombe._ She turned around to find Ilom and tell him the good news. But she saw that he was staring if a different direction.

"Ilom, come on, we've found food and water." She said gently to the cub, thinking that he was missing Tiombe and wanted to go back. "We'll go back aft---."

Her ears picked the sound of something strangely familiar, like cackling, loud and wild laughter that getting closer by the minute. She felt Ilom back into her, wanting to hide. He was shaking, and she could see why. In the distance a small pack of at least ten hyenas charged toward them.

"Run!" Kimoni snapped out of her daze. Kimoni grabbed Ilom by the scruff of the neck and took off, Kabira following right behind him. But the laughter was getting closer, and closer, they weren't going to make it.

"Kimoni, get Ilom out of here!" That was when she turned; ready to face the danger that was coming straight for her.

* * *

Kaveri tackled the first Hyena off the adolescent lioness who was struggling to break free of a group of Hyenas. Fear was evident in her eyes, as she was only one lioness. It might be too late to save the other. Then she heard roar and watched as Khairi roared again, making the Hyenas scatter. He was still young, but his roar was still frightening. Kaveri leaped in front of the wounded lioness and followed Khairi's example, roaring and showing off her fangs, trying to dissuade the Hyenas from attacking.

The lone female leader growled but yipped and led her Hyena clan away. Kaveri had some wounds, but they weren't too bad. Her first priority was the fallen female. She walked over to the dark brown female, to see that she was also an adolescent. Upon closer inspection she could see that she was also highly malnourished, and Kaveri wondered if she was still alive.

"Ilom? Kimoni?" She growled, opening her eyes slightly. Kabira gritted her teeth as she struggled to lift her head, before closing her eyes. She felt woozy and her body was battered. She was shaky, but she tried to calm herself down, as the two other adolescents watched in amazement as she rose to a sitting position.

"Are you okay?" Khairi said coming closer. "You might want to lie back down."

"No." She said, before taking in a gasping air of breath. "Find Kimoni and Ilom, find the Pridelands. Have to tell…Tiombe….was right."

Kaveri gasped as the female fell to the ground, breathing heavily, her eyes closed and her muzzle twisted into a grimace. "Come on." Kaveri nodded to Khairi. "You carry her, we'll go back to priderock."

They slowly started to get the lioness onto Khairi's back, when a growl stopped them. They looked up to see a tan colored adolescent lion glaring at them. Cowering behind him was a small cub, watching them with wide fearful eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"_Madi ao"_

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Now try and tell me where these lyrics are from :) R/r thanks!

Extra; character names;

Asabi (one of select birth)

Nyeki (second wife)

Bakita (anteater)

Kabira (powerful)

Kimoni (great man)

Kiara (small,dark (celtic/gaelic))

Dalji (walk gracefully)

Zama (try)

Khairi (kingly)

Kaveri (river (sanskrit))

Tiombe (shy)

Ilom (my enemies are many)

Yes, it is a lot. But I just though you'd like to see some of the names. I try to match the lions personalities and names. Most are pretty good and if you can find out why Kaveri's name is in Sanskrit I'll create a character for you to go in the story :)


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